Soccer league pushes for stadium in Flushing Meadow park

Another huge amenity could be coming to the Citi Field area. Major League Soccer, which for nearly a year has been scouring the city for a site to build a stadium for a forthcoming New York team, has finally selected a site on the northern portion of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park for a 25,000-seat arena, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The site selection comes the same month the nearby U.S. Tennis Center announced a $500 million renovation and the city unveiled plans for the development of nearby Willets Point.

In exchange for building on the run-down, eight-acre section of the park, where a closed off six-acre concrete pool is filled with stagnant water, the league would refurbish public fields on the site and build cricket and volleyball courts. Though the stadium would be privately financed, it would need approval from the City Council and State Legislature because it is proposed for city-owned park land. Construction on the stadium could be complete one to two years after it receives necessary approval.

MLS currently has 19 teams, including the New York Red Bulls, who moved into a $220 million stadium in Harrison, N.J. two years ago. [WSJ]